Wood golf club head

ABSTRACT

A wood golf club head has a sole plate, a crown, a strike face and a hosel that are all made of metal and are welded together. The sole plate is formed by forging to have different thicknesses at different parts and has a weight formed as a thicker part of the sole plate. Therefore, when the wood golf club head is manufactured, the shape, the size and the position of the weight is precisely set based on the design of the wood golf club head. Then the gravity center of the wood golf club head is accurately determined. Moreover, since the weight is directly formed on the sole plate without any gaps and the shape of the weight is simple and smooth, the wood golf club head performs a clear and pleasing striking sound while it strikes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a golf club head, especially to a wood golf club head.

2. Description of the Prior Arts

Wood golf club heads have special shapes so that the wood golf club heads are difficult to be formed as one piece. Therefore, the wood golf club heads made of metal are usually manufactured as two-pieces, three pieces or four pieces. The pieces are welded to form a wood golf club head with predetermined appearance.

With reference to FIG. 4, a conventional wood golf club head with four pieces comprises a sole plate 20, a crown 21, a strike face 22, a hosel 23 and a weight 24. One side edge of the crown 21 is attached securely to an upper side edge of the sole plate 20. Side edges of the strike face 22 are respectively attached securely to front side edges of the sole plate 20 and the crown 21. The hosel 23 is connected securely to end edges of the sole plate 20, the crown 21 and the strike face 22. The weight 24 is mounted securely on the sole plate 20 to lower and determine the center of gravity of the conventional wood golf club head. The weight 24 may be welded, screwed or glued on the sole plate 20. When the weight 24 is welded on the sole plate 20, the connection between the weight 24 and the sole plate 20 is firmer so that the weights 24 of most of the conventional wood golf club heads are welded on their sole plates 20.

To weld the weight 24 conveniently, the weight 24 is only welded at multiple points on the inner top surface of the sole plate 20 instead of welding at full periphery edge since the periphery edge of the weight 24 has a certain length. Thus, the welded parts 25 are arranged in intervals around the weight 24. However, the welding in intervals provide worse bond than welding at full periphery. Besides, the material of the welded parts 25 is softer than the material of the weight 24 and the sole plate 20. When the wood golf club strikes for multiple times, the welded parts 25 are easily broken so that the weight 24 easily departs from the sole plate 20.

Additionally, with reference to FIG. 5, the weight 24 is welded on the sole plate 20, which has a curved inner top surface. Therefore, the bottom surface of the weight 24 does not flush with the inner top surface of the sole plate 20. A gap 26 is consequently formed between the weight 24 and the sole plate 20 so that the weight 24 and the sole plate 20 are not bound smoothly. Furthermore, since the adjacent welded parts 25 also have a gap formed between them, the conventional wood golf club head cannot perform a clear and pleasing striking sound while it strikes. Thus, the conventional wood golf club head has poor striking sound.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a wood golf club head to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a wood golf club head that improves the forming process of the weight to precisely determine the position of the gravity center of the wood golf club head. The wood golf club head has a sole plate, a crown, a strike face and a hosel that are all made of metal and are welded together. The sole plate is formed by forging to have different thicknesses at different parts and has a weight formed as a thicker part of the sole plate. Therefore, when the wood golf club head is manufactured, the shape, the size and the position of the weight is precisely set based on the design of the wood golf club head. Then the gravity center of the wood golf club head is accurately determined. Moreover, since the weight is directly formed on the sole plate without any gaps and the shape of the weight is simple and smooth, the wood golf club head performs a clear and pleasing striking sound while it strikes.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the sole plate with the weight of the wood golf club head in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the wood golf club head in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional wood golf club head in accordance with the prior art; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the sole plate with the weight of the conventional wood golf club head in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention is used for a wood golf club, which may be a drive, a fairway wood, or a hybrid and so on. The wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention comprises a sole plate 10, a crown 11, a strike face 12 and a hosel 13.

The sole plate 10, the crown 11, the strike face 12 and the hosel 13 are made of metal, which may be selected from titanium, stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum alloy and so on. The sole plate 10, the crown 11, the strike face 12 and the hosel 13 may be made of the same metal or may be made of two different metals.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sole plate 10 is made of a slab of a bar by hot forging to have different thicknesses at different parts. A weight 101 is formed as a thicker part of the sole plate 10. Other parts of the sole plate 10 may have uniform thicknesses or may have a uniform thickness, which depends on the designed shape of the club head. The location, the shape, and the thickness of the weight 101 are determined according to the position of a gravity center of the sole plate 10. The weight 101 may be circular, rectangular and so on. In a preferred embodiment, the weight 101 is rectangular.

The crown 11 is welded on a top edge 102 of the sole plate 10. The strike face 12 is welded between a front edge 103 of the sole plate 10 and a front edge 111 of the crown 11. The hosel 13 is welded between an end edge 104 of the sole plate 10, an end edge 112 of the crown 11 and an end edge 121 of the strike face 12. The wood golf club head as described has further processing steps such as forming multiple grooves on the strike face 12, performing surface treatment, and so on to accomplish the wood golf club head as shown in FIG. 3. Then the hosel 13 is connected securely to the shaft to accomplish the wood golf club.

The wood golf club head as described determines the gravity center via the thicknesses of the weight 101 and the other parts of the sole plate 10. A toe end 14 is defined on the end away from the hosel 13 while a heel end 15 is defined on the end near the hosel 13. The strike face 12 is defined as a left side of the wood golf club head as described while the opposite side is defined as a right side. The height of the gravity center of the wood golf club head as described is altered by adjusting the thickness of the weight 101. The depth of the gravity center of the wood golf club head as described is altered by adjusting the distance between the weight 101 and the strike face 12, or by adjusting the distance between the weight 101 and the hosel 13. Thus, the gravity center is shifted as desired so that the manufacturer can design a preferred position for the gravity center based on the need of the wood golf club. On the other hand, since the weight 101 is directly formed on the sole plate 10 without any gaps and the shape of the weight 101 is simple and smooth, the wood golf club head as described performs a clear and pleasing striking sound while it strikes.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. 

1. A wood golf club head comprising: a sole plate made of metal excluding aluminum alloy, formed by forging to have different thicknesses at different parts and having an inner surface; a weight formed as a thicker part of the sole plate and formed on and protruding from the inner surface without forming gaps between the weight and the inner surface and without touching a top edge, a front edge and an end edge of the sole plate; a crown made of metal and welded on the top edge of the sole plate; a strike face made of metal and welded between the front edge of the sole plate and a front edge of the crown; and a hosel made of metal and welded between the end edge of the sole plate, an end edge of the crown and an end edge of the strike face.
 2. The wood golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal, which is used to make the sole plate, the crown, the strike face and the hosel, is selected from a group consisting of titanium, stainless steel and carbon steel. 